Known protective pads such as, for example, hockey goalie leg pads, knee pads, elbow pads, etc., usually include a rigid layer to protect the wearer against impact injury. Because of the rigid layer, the pads cannot generally be adapted to conform to different body configurations. Having a pad which does not properly fit a wearer can potentially increase the risk of injury and/or reduce the liberty of movement of the wearer. The rigid pads are moreover usually relatively heavy, and as such can limit the activities of the wearer.
In order to provide a better adaptation to a body configuration of a particular wearer, it has been known to provide pads formed of a plurality of pieces flexibly connected together. However, such pads are relatively complex to manufacture, with the links between the various pieces causing an increased risk of failure of the pad. In addition, the interaction between the various pieces of the pad generally increases the risk that the pad can be worn in an incorrect manner, which can give a false sense of security to a wearer and as such increase the risk of injury.